The Times of Israel reports: Defense Minister Avigdor Liberman on Saturday criticized Israeli and international officials who called to open an investigation into the violence that broke out on Friday along the Gaza border fence, where 16 Palestinians were reported to have been killed, five of them Hamas operatives, and 1,400 injured during massive protests.

“The IDF soldiers pushed back the Hamas military wing with determination and professionalism, just as we expected them to do,” Liberman wrote in a tweet. “I fully back the [soldiers]; because of them we celebrated the Passover seder with confidence. I do not understand the choir of hypocrites who are calling for a commission of inquiry. They got confused and thought Hamas organized a Woodstock festival and we had to give [the marchers] flowers.”

Earlier Saturday, the new head of the left-wing Meretz party, Tamar Zandberg, urged Israeli authorities to open an investigation into the violence. She also intimated that the Israeli military appeared to be too eager in its use of deadly force.